Butterflies of Tioman Island, West Malaysia, with the Descriptions of New Subspecies

• OKUBO Kiyoshi

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

• ティオマン島の蝶類に関する新知見

Abstract

Plau Tioman, the largest island in the Tioman Island Group, lies some 20 miles east off West Malaysian mainland, accompanying Plau Aru, Plau Pemangil and many other small islands. The Island Group has been well known in its conspicuous endemism in butterflies, especially in the subspecific differences between populations of the Island Group and those of Malaysian mainland or Sundaland. Among the nine specialists of the butterflies who visited these islands from 1916 to the present, WILCOCKS had discovered a new endemic species, which was described as Hasora wilcocki by ELIOT (1970), and STUBBS and HISLOP had made a good series of collections, in which ELIOT (1978) recognized 177 species including many new subspecies. ELIOT (1980) added 30 species to the butterfly fauna of Plau Tioman based on BRETT-DAVIS collection, of which 26 were new to the Tioman Island Group. The author twice visited Plau Tioman, in May 1980 and August 1981, and made butterfly collection between Kampong Lalang and Kampong Tekek at the west coast and along a path connecting Kampong Tekek of the west coast with Kampong Juara of the east coast from sea level to the highest altitude of 330 m. In spite of his short visits to the island, the author was able to find some unrecorded butterflies from the island, some of which are thought to be new subspecies of Malayan or continental species. According to ELIOT (1978), the butterflies of the Tioman Island Group are characterized by the "increased melanism", especially in the family Pieridae and in the females of the family Lycaenidae, and they are under the influence of Bornean fauna. The author generally accepts his opinion with some exceptions mentioned later. Some pierid and danaid specimens from Palu Tioman in the author's collection were already illustrated by YATA and MORISHITA in TSUKADA (1981). They are included in this paper, because there were no special references in their texts concerning the records on these butterflies from the island. In the following lines the author will record the butterflies newly known from Plau Tioman and describe 11 new subspecies. The detailed data on the localities are omitted in the list except for new taxa. The materials treated in this paper were collected by the author himself and are preserved in the author's private collection, including the type specimens.

Journal

• Lepidoptera Science

  Lepidoptera Science 33 (3-4), 168-184, 1983

  THE LEPIDOPTEROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN

Details

• CRID: 1390001205264085888
• NII Article ID: 110007707492
• DOI: 10.18984/lepid.33.3-4_168
• ISSN: 18808077
• ISSN: 00240974
• Text Lang: en
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • CiNii Articles
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed